You make excellent points.
I have never had a barn cat mainly because I’ve lived in cities and suburbs all my life. But now that I live amid farmland, the three that came starving to the door and we thought were barn cats obviously were not. One died of FeLV, but the other two are very happy to be inside, well fed, amused, and groomed. None of our cats has ever tried to live outside, so I’ve never felt guilty about keeping them in.
Your essay really taught me the whys and wherefores, and I appreciate it.
the three that came starving to the door and we thought were barn cats obviously were not.
That's usually where mine come from. Strays. I drop $200-300 on them right away for shots, the Fe-Luke test, deworming and neutering.
I think that owners who don't vaccinate p*ss me off more than anything. I've paid well over a thousand dollars over the years testing and putting down abandoned cats with Fe-Luke. Heck, we spent $200 putting down a starving kitten my daughter found just last fall who tested positive for Fe-Luke. She was a real sweetheart, too. That one hurt.